Rangers Seek Second Win In Five Years At 3SC

Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC, of Ibadan will welcome Enugu Rangers International in Saturday’s Nigeria Professional Football League crucial match day 35 fixture at Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan hoping for a win that has the ultimate potential of setting them on the exit path from the relegation trough of the domestic top flight, Completesportsnigeria.com reports.

It is a match of equal importance as win for Rangers will further give them confidence and hope of lifting the league trophy for the first time in 32 years.

Victory for the home side, the Oluyole Warriors, will smoothen their path of escape from the dreaded relegation to the second tier league.

This fixture equally revives the traditional rivalry between the two most traditional clubs in Nigeria. Either way, it is going to be explosive.

The two teams, indeed, have so much to play for and the fee-paying fans will be the better for it as the game provides a perfect advertising forum for the NPFL.

Saturday’s visit will be Rangers seventh to Ibadan in the last seven seasons. Rangers won 1-0 in 2011 and would be seeking for a second and crucial win on Saturday. They have lost thrice in the previous visits to the famous Lekan Salami Stadium and have also drawn twice, including a 1-1 draw 17th May, 2015.

The Flying Antelopes were in their season’s best form on Sunday when they literarily destroyed title rivals, Rivers United 4-0 in a match-day 34 fixture. If they replicate that all conquering form again on Saturday, Shooting Stars will have their hands full.

Indeed, this is a high mountain for Shooting Stars to climb.

But with three front men, the musketeers; Godwin Aguda, Chisom Egbuchulam and Obinna Nwobodo, the defensive quartet of Shooting Stars Izu Joseph, Promise Ebiaku, Omololu Waheed and Akinyemi Oluwaseun, will have a lot of work to do keeping the Flying Antelopes' forwards out.

The Antelopes have a rich bench in Osas Okoro, Clement Bobby, excluding even the suspended Tope Olusesi. This makes Rangers a near complete squad.

On the other hand, Ajani Ibrahim will spearhead Shooting Stars’ attack that will include Sunday Adetunji, Ojukwu Ifegwu and Agogo Ebitimi.

As it were, much of the game will be played from the bench where Gbenga Ogunbote for Shooting Stars and Imama Amakapabo for Rangers will direct affairs. with Rangers' 4-3-3 formation against Shooting Stars' 4-4-2.

Amapakabo is pleased he has no injury concerns in his squad going into the match.

“For now, no. Every player is available, we’re intensifying our training sessions and it will be nice going into the game fresh and away from any injuries,” Amapakabo told Completesportsnigeria.com while confirming Tope Olusesi’s unavailability for the make or mar trip to Shooting Stars.

“Tope was given a red card in our match against Rivers United, so he won’t part of the team in Ibadan.”

For Gbenga Ogunbote, it is a matter of one’s destiny in his hands.

“It is a difficult game. Rangers are not a small team. They are top on the table, but for us, it is a matter of must win considering our position on the table and we cannot afford to drop points in the remaining games,” Ogunbote told Completesportsnigeria.com.

COMMENTS

Please somebody should tell the management of 3SC to jetison this abbreviation of a thing and allow the name 'Shooting Stars Sports Club' to resound. Your name is your break. If they can shoot stars as the name suggest, let their name be on all lips. Most people don't even know the full meaning of 3SC. That is the truth and it is too bad. And what more, the name is not the longest in any league I know. So what is the problem?. Hope somebody is listening?